Rigid, hinged-lid packets of cigarettes are currently the most widely marketed, by being easy to produce, practical and easy to use, and by effectively protecting the cigarettes inside.
A rigid, hinged-lid packet of cigarettes comprises an inner package defined by a group of cigarettes wrapped in a sheet of foil; and a rigid outer package housing the inner package. The outer package comprises a cup-shaped container housing the group of cigarettes and having an open top end; and a cup-shaped lid hinged to the container along a hinge to rotate, with respect to the container, between an open and a closed position opening and closing the open end respectively. A U-folded collar is normally fitted inside the container, and projects partly outwards of the open end to engage a corresponding inner surface of the lid when the lid is in the closed position.
Tobacco is highly sensitive to environment. That is, in contact with the atmosphere, its organic characteristics tend to vary alongside variations in humidity (by losing or absorbing too much moisture) or due to evaporation of the volatile substances with which the tobacco is impregnated (especially in the case of aromatic cigarettes treated with spices such as cloves). To preserve the tobacco, packets of cigarettes are therefore cellophane-wrapped, i.e. wrapped in a heat-sealed overwrapping of airtight plastic material. This, however, may not always be sufficient to fully preserve the tobacco in the packet, especially if the packet is consumed some time after manufacture. Moreover, when the packet is unsealed, the overwrapping is removed, thus exposing the tobacco to the atmosphere, and, if the cigarettes are not consumed soon after the packet is unsealed, the organic characteristics of the remaining cigarettes may deteriorate visibly.
In an attempt to eliminate this drawback, rigid packets of cigarettes have been proposed (e.g. of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,676) in which the inner package is airtight, and comprises a sheet of airtight packing material having a cigarette extraction opening closed by a reusable cover flap. In other words, the cover flap has fastening means (e.g. a strip of non-dry re-stick adhesive) by which to repeatedly secure the cover flap in a closed position closing the cigarette extraction opening.
One problem of rigid packets of cigarettes with sealed inner package is that, to withdraw a cigarette from the packet, the user must first open the lid and then lift the cover flap by gripping a grip tab on the flap. In view of the small size (only a few millimeters) of the grip tab, lifting the cover flap may prove awkward (especially for less dexterous users), so it has been proposed to increase the size of the cover flap grip tab. A larger grip tab, however, inevitably sticks out from the bottom edge of the lid, thus making it difficult to keep the lid in the closed position, tends to become entangled with external objects, thus resulting in accidental opening of the lid, and impairs the look of the packet when the lid is closed.
WO03070601A1 discloses a package of cigarettes comprising: a group of cigarettes; a cup-shaped outer container having an open top end, and a cup-shaped lid hinged to the outer container along a hinge to rotate, with respect to the outer container, between an open position and a closed position opening and closing the open top end respectively; and an inner package, which is housed inside the outer container, encloses the group of tobacco articles, and has an upper tearable portion (called “pull”) that is torn during the first opening of the package and is glued to an inner surface of the lid.